USA > Tennessee > Johnson County > History of the Thirteenth Regiment, Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry, U. S. A. > Part 14
USA > Tennessee > Carter County > History of the Thirteenth Regiment, Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry, U. S. A. > Part 14
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HISTORY OF THE 13TH REGIMENT
them shouted, "Kirk's bushwhackers ! get out of the way !'' and all ran in every direction, leaving most of their horses in the streets. Captain Wilcox halted his men here and detached the following men: Sergt. John M. Wilcox, Sergt. W. E. Shuffield, Corp. John G. Burchfield, Corp. William Humphreys and Privates W. M. Bishop, J. H. and David White, Sol. Turner, N. T. Campbell, Joseph McCloud, and one or two others (about 10 or 12 in all) led by Sergt. Wilcox, dashed on towards College Hill where they found the enemy and drove them from around their artillery. One or two of the men actually tried to hitch the horses, which were harnessed close by, to the caissons. During this time the enemy appeared utterly ciumfounded and did not fire a gun. Capt. Wilcox leaving part of his company back near Church street rode up, and seeing the enemy forming on all sides, ordered this squad, that had in the meantime picked up 25 or 30 prisoners, back to Church street, to which place they brought the prisoners.
In the meantime Lieut. White with his detachment had come in on what is now Irish street and formed his men about the Williams House. At about this time also firing liad commenced, men on both sides shooting wherever they could see an enemy, and the artillery on the hills had opened up. Capt. Northington and his men were also in town and had surrounded the stable and captured the horses belonging to Gen. Morgan and his staff, which were in a stable on what is now Depot street, and cap- tured some prisoners. Gen. Morgan and his staff had been aroused and came down into the garden or grounds, and attempted to escape, but seeing no chance concealed themselves in the summer house, potato hole and out- houses. Gen. Morgan was the last to come down and was but partially dressed, having on no coat. He was
armed with two navy pistols which he carried in his hands. He inquired of Mrs. Williams. "Where are they?" meaning the Yankees. She replied, "Every- where." He then started towards the Episcopal Church and seeing the Yankees near it turned towards the Fry
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TENNESSEE VOLUNTEER CAVALRY.
Hotel, where he hid under the porch of that building for a short time; Major Gosset, it was said, was under the porch at the same time and watching an opportunity ran out, and find- ing a loose horse, mounted and escaped-the only officer with Gen. Morgan that night that got away, About this time Captain Wilcox with a squad of men came down Main street and halted near a gate leading into the Wil- liams ground from that street. Corporal J. G. Burch- field rode on down to the Fry Hotel, where he saw Mrs. Fry, a relative of his, and stopped and shook hands with her. She said to him, "John, Morgan is in that brick house (pointing to the Williams house) and I want you people to catch him." Capt. Wilcox saw a man running towards the Williams house and riding his mule against the gate, which was fastened, broke it down and ordered his men inside the premises with directions to look out for prisoners and capture the man who had been seen. Sergt. John M. Wilcox and Corporal Burchfield and others of Company G. rode in, the two former going towards where they had seen the man. He ran out from near the Summer house and fired at them; they ordered him to halt but he continued to dodge in and out of the grapevines and the framework that supported them, they calling on him to surrender. They did not fire at him be- cause their guns were not loaded, as he probably sur- mised. Things were growing warm now in all direc- tions. The artillery was firing from the hill, and the enemy was advancing and men shooting at each other from almost every direction. The man in his shirt sleeves started in the direction of Depot street when he was discovered by Private Andrew Campbell, who was on that street 40 or 50 yards distant from him. Camp- bell fired at him from his horse but missed him. Camp- bell then dismounted and placing his gun on the fence fired again. The man threw up his hands and was heard to say, "O, God !" and fell forward on his face, gave one or two gasps and expired.
There was no insignia of rank on his person and no one
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knew who he was. Sergt. Wilcox and Corp. Burchfield. were the first to reach his body as they had been pursuing him. Captain Wilcox and others were there in a few minutes. Captain Wilcox thought from his appearance he was not a common soldier, and suspected at once that he was Gen. Morgan. He sent for Captains Clay and Rodgers who had already been captured and asked them who the man was, one of them, Captain Clay, we have been informed, said with much feeling: "That is the best man that ever lived, Gen. Morgan."
Captain Wilcox then ordered the men to carry the body out to the street and place it on a horse and take it back to the Regiment. Captains Clay and Rodgers, especially the former, protested against the order and requested that the body be removed to the Williams house. Captain Wilcox told them he had orders to bring Morgan out whether dead or alive and he had to obey orders.
The body was then hastily carried out to the fence and put on the horse in front of Campbell, the man who shot him. The prisoners and horses had been placed in charge of Company I., while Lieut. White's detachment was ordered to protect the rear. At the time the body was placed on the horse the enemy was advancing from the east and a small squad from the south. The latter was driven back by Lieut. White's detachment. It seems strange that notwithstanding the hundreds of shots that were fired at these two companies, both by infantry and artillery, we did not hear of a single casualty. We can only attribute this to the surprise and confusion of the enemy which must have caused them to shoot "wild."
The two companies now made a hasty retreat back in the direction from which they had come into town, but before reaching that point they met the Regiment coming to their assistance. The body of Gen. Morgan was laid down by the roadside and a guard placed over it.
Col. Ingerton, who was in the act of engaging Vaughn's command, which had been driven back on us, hearing the heavy firing in town, about-faced the Regi- ment and hastened to the relief of Wilcox and Northing-
LIEUT. GEO. W. EMMERT. (See page 288.)
CORP. HENRY LINEBACK. (See page 289.)
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ton. Meeting them on their retreat, our Regiment formed in line on the right, and just west of the town, the re- mainder of the Brigade coming up, the Ninth formed on our left, the Tenth Michigan on the extreme left. The battery unlimbered and opened fire on the enemy. The entire Brigade charged; the Ninth through the main part of the town, the Tenth Michigan on the left, and the Thirteenth on the right. After a sharp resistance, with artillery and musketry, the enemy gave way and retreated in the direction of Henderson, now Afton. The retreat soon became a rout, the enemy abandoned his artillery, threw away guns and blankets and strewed the road with debris. Our horses were too much jaded to take full advantage of the victory and did not follow him but a short distance.
Gen. Morgan's body had been laid on a blanket near a small grove or cluster of trees near the roadside about three-fourths of a mile west of Greeneville, and left un- der guard while the fight was in progress. Immediately after the fight was over, by direction of Gen. Gillem, the body was placed in an ambulance and taken back to town where it was dressed and cared for by Gen. Morgan's staff officers who had been captured, and turned over to Gen. Duke under flag of truce; it was related at the time, that Gen. Gillem, in a dispatch to Governor Johnson an- nouncing the victory and the death of Gen. Morgan, made use of the famous Latin quotation : "Veni, Vidi, Vici;" this was commented on by some of the officers saying, "there were other Cæsars on the field before Gen. Gillem arrived."
The Confederate loss as reported was 75 killed and wounded, 106 prisoners, one piece of artillery and two caissons with horses and equipments. The Federal loss was very slight. The officers of Gen. Morgan's staff captured were : Major Hines, Dr. Morgan, Surgeon and brother of the General, Capt. H. B. Clay, Capt. Rodgers and Lieut. Johnson, and perhaps others whom we do not now recall.
These officers were taken to Bull's Gap in ambulances
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that afternoon, the Brigade reaching that place about the same hour it had left it on the previous night, having marched through storm and darkness over rough and muddy roads more than forty miles.
This was the first fight of importance in which the greater part of the Regiment had been engaged. The officers and men showed the gallantry and endurance of veterans. The part assigned to the Thirteenth gave this Regiment the most conspicuous part, and the honor of killing Gen. Morgan and capturing his staff officers, while the remainder of the Brigade were driving Gen. Vaughn's brigade from Blue Springs. In the fight that ensued after Morgan had been killed, the Ninth Tennes- see Cavalry under Lieut .- Col. Brownlow, the 10th Michigan, under Major Newell, and the Light Artillery under Lieut. Patterson, all deserve a full share of the honors. The position of Companies G. and I. of the Thirteenth, gave them the opportunity of making the dash into Greeneville and win the distinction of killing Gen. Morgan and capturing his staff, and Andrew Camp- bell, then a private soldier of Company G, no doubt fired the shot, and the act was recognized by his promotion to First Lieutenant of Company E.
Many officers and soldiers of the Brigade, as well as of the Thirteenth, have asserted that "they were present and saw General Morgan killed." The facts are, we think, that none of the Brigade knew that Gen. Morgan was killed, neither did any of our Regiment, except a part of Companies G. and I., until after his dead body had been brought out of town. There were none others ordered into Greeneville, except these two companies, and if any other Federal soldiers or officers were there at the time, or previous to his death, they were out of the line of their duties, as far as we can remember or have been able to learn.
Captain Wilcox received the order to go into town as the senior officer of the two companies, and carried out his instructions to the letter. Capt. Northington, with his gallant company, did his share of the work and is en-
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titled to his full share of the credit Every officer and soldier in the two companies did his full duty that Sep- tember morning. It was a brave deed for these men to dash into town in the face of Morgan's command, scarce- 1, half a mile away, and yet they were almost inexper- ienced officers and soldiers at that time.
Col. Ingerton though ignorant of the situation when lie assumed it, did not flinch from the danger when it was revealed to him, but did his duty like a true soldier as he was.
Wilcox and Northington went into town conscious of the fact that they were charging under the very guns of the enemy and in the face of "Morgan's men" whose names were synonyms of gallantry and daring.
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CHAPTER XIX.
Further Comments on the Death of Gen. Morgan .- Extract From Lee's History .- The Statement Untrue .- Hon. A. B. Wilson's History of the Affair.
We have alluded to the errors and misrepresentations in relation to Gen. Morgan's death. The most prominent of these, and one that had its origin on the day it occurred and has been repeated ever since, though it has been re- peatedly contradicted, has been embodied in a United States history, written by Miss S. P. Lee, and adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the State of Tennes- see as a text-book. The following is a quotation from this history ( ?) :
"Early in September Morgan was in the village of Greeneville with only a small detachment of soldiers. The daughter-in-law of the woman at whose house he lodged rode at night to a Federal camp some miles off and told where the gallant Confederate officer could be captured. Four companies of Federal cavalry dashed into the town and surrounded the house where he slept. His staff was captured but Morgan escaped into the garden. He was unarmed. There was no possibility of his getting away from the surrounding soldiers, so he came out from his place of concealment and surrendered to the Federal Cap- tain. After this a cavalryman rode up to within TWO FEET of him, and, notwithstanding Morgan's assurance that he was a prisoner, shot and killed him and inflicted indignities upon his body."
In refutation of this statement we have the statement of Major Hines, a member of Gen. Morgan's staff who was present at the time and who in a book written after the war entitled "The Gray Jackets," in which he gives an extended account of the affair, says: "Major Gosset,
ISI
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEER CAVALRY.
Captain Rogers and Mr. Johnson sprang out in the direc- tion of the vineyard where the two latter were captured and General Morgan killed. The latter had just fired his pistol and was in the act of firing again when he fell." Quoting from another commenting on this extract : "From the above it will be seen that General Morgan was duly and fully armed, and was on 'the firing line' shooting at the enemy when he was shot and killed."
The report of indignities offered the body of General Morgan and that it was dragged through the street with a display of barbarous rejoicing was circulated by his sympathizers before we left Greeneville on the day of his death. There was no foundation for it whatever ex- cept the order given by Col. Ingerton to Captain Wilcox "to bring Morgan's body out, dead or alive," and the fact that this order was carried out by Campbell on horseback, and that it may have been bruised, or discolored by con- tact with the saddle. Our men, however, were too hotly pursued at this time to think of making a display of the body even had they been barbarians.
In explanation of Col. Ingerton's order it may be said that it was given in a moment of excitement and confu- sion. The thought uppermost in his mind was probably to extricate his Regiment from its dangerous position, and believing a blow to the commander would demoralize the enemy he gave the order to emphasize the importance of the undertaking. There was certainly nothing bar- barous or unsoldierly in Col. Ingerton's nature.
This report having been circulated at the time, it is our recollection, that Capt. J. T. Rogers and two others, of General Morgan's staff officers, were requested to make a written statement of the facts over their signa- tures, which they did. The statement was published in the "Knoxville Whig" at the time. They stated that Gen. Morgan after his imprisonment in the Ohio peniten- tiary had often declared he would never surrender again, and it was his refusal to surrender that had cost him his life. They stated further that they had been treated with
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HISTORY OF THE 13TH REGIMENT
the greatest courtesy and kindness by the officers of the Tennesse Brigade.
The following affidavits from honorable and truthful citizens should be conclusive as to the facts :
STATE OF TENNESSEE, ss.
COUNTY OF CARTER,
Personally came before me, Clerk and Master of the Chancery Court for said County and State, John M. Wilcox, M. D. L. Miller and William M. Bishop and made oath in due form of law as follows:
That each of us were enlisted soldiers in Company G, of the 13th Regiment of Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry, U. S. A .; that we were present with our Company in the charge made into the town of Greeneville, Tenn., on the morning of September 4, 1864, and wit- nessed the shooting of Gen. John H. Morgan by Andrew Camp- bell, then a private of Company G, 13th Tenn. Cavalry, and as- sisted to carry the body of Gen. Morgan from the place where it fell and assisted in placing it on Campbell's horse and went with it in the retreat from the town; and we further declare that Gen. Morgan was dead before his body was removed; that there was no indignity offered the body any further than its removal as stated, and that the facts in regard to it as stated in Scott and Angel's history of the 13th Tennessee Cavalry, which have been made known to us, are absolutely true and correct to the best of our knowledge and recollection.
JOHN M. WILCOX, Lt. Co. G., M. D. L. MILLER, Sergt. Co. G .. IV. M. BISHOP, Private Co. G.
Sworn to and subscribed before me on this, the 2nd day of October, 1902. And I certify that the affiants are each of them well known to me, and that each of them are respectable and in good standing in this community, where they were born and raised, and that their Post Office address is Elizabethton, Ten- nessee.
R. A. SMITH, Clerk and Master.
(Certified copy of this affidavit on file in Clerk and Master's office, Elizabethton, Tenn.)
TO ALL WHOM THIS MAY CONCERN:
I was an enlisted man and Corporal in Co. G, 13th Regt., Tenn. Cav., U. S. A., and was present with my company Sept. 4th, 1864. at Greeneville, Tenn., when the Confederate General, John H. Mor- gan, was killed by Private Andrew Campbell. That I was within a few feet of the General when he fell. That I assisted in placing his body on Campbell's horse when we retreated out of Greene- ville. That no indignity was done to his body. That he was shot while in the act of firing upon Sergeant John M. Wilcox and my- self.
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I have read the manuscript of Comrades S. W. Scott and S. P. Angel for their history of the 13th Tennessee Cavalry and I cer- tify that their description of Morgan's death is true and correct. J. G. BURCHFIELD, Late Corp. Co. G, 13th Tenn. Cav. Address 653 A St., N. E., Washington, D. C.
Subscribed and sworn to before me at Washington City, District of Columbia, this 2nd day of October, A. D. 1902.
WM. H. DELACY, Notary Public.
In view of the incontestable evidence of the errors into which Miss Lee has fallen in her school history, and in behalf of truth and justice, and the honor of the Fed- eral soldiers of East Tennessee, we enter our protest against the use of this history in our public schools unless these errors are expunged.
We would state here that in a later edition of Miss Lee's history her former version has been materially modified, but the history will not be worthy a place in our schools until it gives the true facts and completely exonerates the Tennessee soldiers from the charge con- tained in it.
Another sensational report, that Mrs. Lucy Williams, the daughter-in-law of the lady at whose house Gen. Morgan and staff were lodging, rode through the dark- ness and storm a distance of sixteen miles has no shadow of truth in it. This story is fully refuted by Mr. Wilson. This lady, or some other claiming to have performed this feat posed as a heroine at Knoxville and other places just after the event, but we can find no evidence other than that Gen. Morgan's whereabouts were made known to our officers in the manner we have stated.
In regard to who furnished the information that led to this night expedition and the killing of Gen. Morgan, others have claimed this honor besides Mrs. Williams. Edmond B. Miller, who was at that time a citizen of Greeneville, but now deceased, we have been informed, filed a claim in the War Department before his deatlı, stating that he was the man who warned the Federal officers that Gen. Morgan was at the Williams home.
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We only know, as a certainty, that some citizen of Greeneville came to Col. Ingerton and told him of Mor- gan's force being at College Hill and that the General himself with his staff and a small guard, were at the resi- dence of Mrs. Williams, who did this we are not prepared to say.
Mr. Wilson, whose article in the Banner we have al- luded to, makes an unimportant error in stating that Andrew Campbell, the man who shot Gen. Morgan, was a native of Greene county, Tennessee. Campbell was a native of Dublin, Ireland. He came to New Orleans about the beginning of the war and joined the Confed- erate army as "a soldier of fortune" probably, more than attachment to the Confederate cause. Growing tired of hard fighting and poor pay, he quit that service of his own accord and sought service in the Federal army. As we have stated elsewhere, he was picked up at Nashville and brought to the Regiment by John M. Smith, a resi- dent of Carter county, Tenn., and enlisted in Company G. After the Greeneville fight he was first promoted to Sergeant of Company E. as shown by the order which appears in the Adjutant-General's Report of the State of Tennessee :
ORDER OF CONGRATULATION.
HEADQUARTERS THIRTEENTH REGIMENT, TENN. CAV., BULL'S GAP, TENN., Sept .. 7, 1864.
ORDERS No. 95.
I. The Lieut .- Colonel commanding the Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry takes pride in saying that the officers and enlisted men under his command have surpassed his most sanguine expectations, and exhibited a spirit of gallantry and determination that would do honor to veteran soldiers. He takes pleasure in commending them for the promptness and energy with which they have discharged their duty in the presence of the enemy, and congratulates them upon the suc- cess which has attended them in expelling from their homes the pre- sumptuous foe who had attempted to teach East Tennesseeans dis- loyalty to their government.
II. Private Andrew Campbell, of Company G, Thirteenth Tenn- essee Cavalry, is hereby appointed First Sergeant of Company E, of this regiment, a reward for his gallantry at the engagement at Greeneville, Tenn., on the 4th inst., and for his success in arresting,
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Tby an accurate shot, the flight of Gen. John H. Morgan, one of our country's most prominent enemies.
By order of
LT .- COL. W. H. INGERTON, Commanding Thirteenth Tenn. Cav.
SAM'L W. SCOTT, First Lieut. and Acting Adjutant.
On the 13th of October, 1864, Campbell was commis- sioned First Lieutenant of Company E. by Governor johnson and held this position until mustered out of the service Sept. 5, 1865. He was noted for his bravery in every engagement. He was with Captain Dan. Ellis in the Spring of 1865 in a number of fights with the enemy at Elizabethton, Tenn., and in Johnson county, Tenn., and assisted in driving the last enemy from these two counties. After the war he resided at Bloomington, Ind., and later at Indianapolis. We have not been able to lo- cate him at this time (1902), and do not know whether he is still living or has joined the great army of our com- rades who have passed across "the Silent Sea."
After the war, and even up to the present time, we have heard of a number of men, each of whom claim to have in his possession one or more of the identical pistols used by Gen. Morgan just before he was shot, and no doubt there were, and many of them may be in existence still, a number of pistols taken from officers and men who were with Gen. Morgan that day, and which were spoken of as "Morgan pistols," but we have good authority for the statement, and we believe it is true, that the two pistols in the hands of Gen. Morgan that morning and found near his body, were silver-mounted, or had a silver plate on them with the following inscription : "Presented to Gen. Hardee by Colonel Colt." It was said the pistols were presented to Gen. Morgan by Gen. Hardee. We would be pleased to have a confirmation or refutation of this statement from a reliable source by any one living who actually knows the facts.
Appreciating the importance of giving to our readers every evidence possible in corroboration of the facts we have endeavored to set forth, in addition to the quotations we append further quotations from Mr. Wilson's
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HISTORY OF THE 13TH REGIMENT
article on the death of General Morgan, published in the "National Tribune," which though to some extent a repetition of what we have already written contains other interesting matter bearing on this event. Mr. Wil- son has the reputation of being a close student of history and is an able and fair-minded writer.
This article deals with the various rumors that have been published and shows from facts which he has gath- ered from reliable sources that these stories are without foundation in fact.
DEATH OF MORGAN.
-
CORRECTION OF ERRORS IN SOME ALLEGED HISTORIES.
BY A. B. WILSON, GREENEVILLE, TENN.
Tennessee has a school-book law under which it is made a misdemeanor for any teacher to substitute any other book on the same subject suitable for the same grade, for those adopted by the School Book Commissioners. This is the case in several of the Southern States. One of the books adopted in Tennessee, and several other Southern States, is Lee's History of the United States. This book, on page 334, with reference to the death of Gen. John H. Morgan, states:
"Early in September, Morgan was in the village of Greeneville with only a few soldiers. The daughter-in-law of the woman at whose house he lodged carried information to the Federal camp of his whereabouts. Four companies of Federal cavalry sur- rounded the house where he was sleeping. His staff were cap- tured, but Morgan escaped, unarmed, into the garden. Seeing that he could not get away, he came out from his hiding place and surrendered to the Federal Captain. After this a cavalryman rode close up to him and, in spite of Morgan's repeated declara- tion that he was a prisoner, killed him."
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